The answer is unpatched vulnerabilities. This is the most critical risk because a legacy system without vendor support has no mechanism to remediate known security flaws, leaving it exposed to published CVEs that attackers can exploit directly. On the CRISC exam, this concept tests your ability to prioritize risk in the context of end-of-life systems, where the absence of patches creates a permanent attack surface that threatens confidentiality, integrity, and availability. A common trap is focusing on functional obsolescence or compliance gaps, but the exam emphasizes that unpatched vulnerabilities represent an active, exploitable threat. Remember the memory tip: "No patch, no parachute"—without vendor updates, the system has no safety net against known exploits, making unpatched vulnerabilities the single highest-priority risk to identify.
CRISC IT Risk Identification Practice Question
This CRISC practice question tests your understanding of it risk identification. Read the scenario carefully and evaluate each option against the stated constraints before committing to an answer. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A company operates a legacy system for which the vendor no longer provides security patches. What is the most critical risk to identify regarding this system?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Unpatched vulnerabilities
Unpatched vulnerabilities are the most critical risk because the legacy system is exposed to known exploits that the vendor no longer addresses. Without security patches, attackers can leverage published CVEs to compromise the system, leading to data breaches or system takeover. This directly threatens the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system and its data.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Unpatched vulnerabilities
Why this is correct
Without patches, all known vulnerabilities remain exploitable, posing a high risk.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Incompatibility with new systems
Why it's wrong here
Incompatibility is an operational risk, but security vulnerabilities are more critical.
✗
Lack of vendor support
Why it's wrong here
While support is lacking, the direct risk is the absence of security patches.
✗
Skill shortage for maintenance
Why it's wrong here
Skill shortage is a resource risk, not as directly impactful as unpatched vulnerabilities.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates confuse the root cause (lack of vendor support) with the actual risk (unpatched vulnerabilities), leading them to select 'Lack of vendor support' instead of identifying the direct security exposure.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Unpatched vulnerabilities in legacy systems often include remote code execution flaws (e.g., CVE-2021-44228 in Log4j) that allow attackers to execute arbitrary commands without authentication. Even if the system is isolated, lateral movement from a compromised adjacent system can exploit these vulnerabilities. In a real-world scenario, an unpatched legacy web server with a known buffer overflow (e.g., CVE-2014-0160 in OpenSSL) can be used to exfiltrate sensitive data or pivot to internal networks.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
TExam Day Tips
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
IT Risk Identification — This question tests IT Risk Identification — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Unpatched vulnerabilities — Unpatched vulnerabilities are the most critical risk because the legacy system is exposed to known exploits that the vendor no longer addresses. Without security patches, attackers can leverage published CVEs to compromise the system, leading to data breaches or system takeover. This directly threatens the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the system and its data.
What should I do if I get this CRISC question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
About these practice questions
Courseiva creates original exam-style practice questions with explanations and wrong-answer analysis. It does not publish real exam questions, exam dumps, or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. A retail company uses a legacy inventory system that is no longer supported by the vendor. The IT department is planning to migrate to a modern cloud-based system. During risk identification, which of the following should be considered a PRIMARY risk?
easy
A.Inadequate training of staff on the new system.
B.Potential cost overrun due to migration complexity.
✓ C.Loss of data integrity during the data migration process.
D.Failure to decommission the legacy system after migration.
Why C: Loss of data integrity during migration is the primary risk because the legacy system is unsupported, meaning there are no vendor patches or tools to validate or repair data inconsistencies. Corrupted or incomplete data transferred to the cloud-based system can lead to inaccurate inventory records, financial losses, and operational disruptions that are difficult to reverse without vendor support.
Last reviewed: Jun 25, 2026
Question Discussion
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This CRISC practice question is part of Courseiva's free ISACA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CRISC exam.
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